Journey of the Word

This is the beginning of a new category of posts. Ones in which you, my fine readers, participate. {Actually, participation is always welcome. Here, it is kindly requested.}

These will be categorized “poll,” which, in this instance, may be defined as follows: “I wanna hear your ideas.”

I’m a bit puzzled by Malachi 3:1.

“Behold, I send my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me. And the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple; and the messenger of the covenant in whom you delight, behold he is coming,” says the LORD of hosts.

Who is the messenger? Rather, of whom are each of these six words or phrases referring?

“Behold, I send my [1] messenger, and [2] he will prepare the way before me. And the [3] Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to [4] his temple; and the [5] messenger of the covenant in whom you delight, behold [6] he is coming,” says the LORD of hosts.

Here’s how you participate:

1. Take a look at Malachi 3:1 and the surrounding passages. Check out Scriptures beyond the book of Malachi if you wish. But no other “helps,” please, because that’s no fun.

2. Leave a comment with your insights, ideas, or opinions. Use the numbers above to clarify (e.g. “I think [1] and [2] are both referring to John the Baptist . . .”).

3. Check back in a few days for a follow-up post with my thoughts.

Happy deciphering!

[image credit: wikipedia commons, journeyoftheword.com]